Cigarette tobacco preparation and feeding



Oct. 9, 195] PATTERSON 2,570,270

CIGARETTE TOBACCO PREPARATION AND FEEDING Filed April 5, 1946 CL Q QINVENTOR MOREHEAD PATTERSON BY 9 g 2 z ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 9, 1951-..CI.GARETIET TUBACCO PREPARATION. AND

:FEEDIN G ,Morehead Ratterson,-.New Y.0rk,.N..Y.,. assignorto .AmeiicarifMa0hineJ8z"Foundry'flompanma.cor-

poration of New Jersey *AppIicat-ionApriI'Q, 1946,Serial No."659,365

..;.3':.tGlai-ms. 'r! This invention relates to a methodiforrsupply-"ing shredded cigarette-i tobacco to .arcigarettema chine in such'amanner as to*supply tobaccoi'havsing various shred lengths in theproportions found most desirablefor thespro'duetion ofl hightzqualitycigar'ettes. More particularly it is :an tobiect .of "the invention tofeed from separatexsources of supply tobaccohaving different lengthssofrshre'ds and to feed "such different length tobacco :ciniidef- *initepredetermined 'proportionstwhichihave been found by experience to 'becharacteristic not the best cigarettes.

It has been found by screeningithe "constituents of cigarettes having:good :mechanical =qualities suchas uniformity of. density (or .feel)and of ":weight, that such :cigarettes are characterized "bycertainratios between the weight-.ot-longto- *bacco, that of 1 medium lengthtobacco and that or: short tobacco and dustand manufacturers ofcigarettes endeavor to maintain thisratio.

-However,it isnot' always possible with the type of tobacco feeds-nowused on cigarette amaking machines to obtain theproportions of theseconastituents required'for satisfactory cigarettes. .Due to the breakageof the shreds. by. the 1 card cloth- "ing of the feed drum an'drefuserdrum, the ac- =cumulation of shorts in the-bottom :of 11711610- *baccofeed "and other -reasonsfthereimay :be :con- =siderablevariation in theproportions ofithevari- -ous constituents of the shreddedtobacoodelivered from the tobacco feed to the cigarette making "machine.

In the usual methods of cigarette manufacture, tobacco in very longshreds of :varying length, as it comes from the shredder, is fedabetweencarded rolls toa picker roll and is again fed to another picker'rollirom whichiitiis. delivered to the cigarette-maker. This resultsin*breaking up of the ver-y'long tobaccointovarious lengths of shreds, andby running :thecard irolls andpicker rollsat certain speeds itiS"pOSsib1eJtO --produce cigarettes having-somewhat the proportions oflong, medium and short tobacco desired. "This is however amatter 'ofconsiderable uncertainty, because of the-variationsin the originallengths of the shreds and variation .in shred breakage and also becauseof loss of shorts through thebottom of the "tobacco feed, and "is alsoaffected greatly by changes in-moisture content of the tobacco.Iproposeto-"controlthese "proportions more exactly.

The proportions of longpmedium and short tolbacoo may 'vary widely inaccordance with the type ofcigarette-being made and the types of tobaccoused. Assone =example=of what is "meant .2 by long, medium and :shorttobacco, :it ;1mayc:b. 'stated that the shredded itobacco mayi'be.separatedinto "a portion which 1' will not pass through ya"z'millimeterrmesh screen5andcan be regarded as long tobacco, ma portionof which will-pass ithrough ra 2 :millimeter lmesh screen but "not afil:millimeter mesh screen :and may benrregardd "as medium .tobacco, andtheiremainder will iipaS S through a :1 :niillimeter mesh screenand can:be .considered .as short tobacco and will 'consist tof shortsianddust.

One object :of my invention "therefore .is "to maintain more accurately:than hitherto oposi'siblein "cigarette: manufacture the ratio tbetweenlong, a medium and rshortitobacco, ronce ilthe de sirable proportionshave "been established for .a ".given type of. cigarette.

Another: object 'of the invention. is to provideria novel method iforfeeding the irequired 1 prop-or- ?20 tions 0f.difierentxshredllengthstothe cigarette makingrmachi'ne. 'lshaveiprovided a su'itablesrapparatus:for'vthispurpose consisting of asseries-rof 'separatefeederssupplied with .rtobaccotshreds fdf diiferentllengths, each feeder xbeingrrarranged *to deliver "various lengths. of shredded tobaccoiinfthedesired proportions toraconveyorawhichifeeds the shredde'dtobaccoitothetfeed chu'teJof thetobacco Ifeed. The tobacco is showered :from thefeed chute-on acigarette paper or web whichica'dvances thelayenofitobacco so formed intoithe rod' former 0f the cigarette makingmachine wherein'tthe tobacco layer is shapedto. form. acylindricali'toba'c- :co rod and the iedges: of the Ycigarette paper"are overlappe'cleand sealed to'formthe cigarettero'd. Thus cigaretesformedifrom the cigarette rod will :contain various lengths of 'shreds"in the 1 desired proportions.

'Therate at which the tobacco is ideliveredby the separate feedersFtothe conveyor should :be ":varied to obtain the :desiredproportion ofshre'd lengths. Another :object, therefore, is to eontrol 'the rate :atwhich :shredded tobacco vis defilivered from the varioussfeeders'toobtainpredetermined proportions :of shred lengths in the tobaccodelivered .to the cigarette making *machine.

To prepare the longer .shreds an apparatus i'o'f the :type' shown in theRundell Patent 2,184,567 issued Deceniber 26,1939, may'beused. However"50 these shreds sand the shorter :shredsrmay =rbe1separated byscreening or:by winnowing.

With these and :other objects .not speciflcaliy mentioned in :.view the'inven'tion tc'onsistsiinc-ceh tainrm'ethods .hereiirafterrdescribed randiset'iforth win the:appendedmlaims.

j j v 2,570,270

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification andin which like characters of reference indicate the same or like parts:

The figure is an isometric view of a suitable form of apparatus forcarrying out my novel tobacco feeding method.

Referring to the figure, it will be observed that my tobacco feedingapparatus may include the endless apron or conveyor I of a suitabletobacco feed. The apron I may be suitably supported by a roller 3 and aroller (not shown), the roller 3 being continuously driven by suitablemechanism (not shown) to advance the apron l with a layer or mat ofshredded tobacco deposited thereon into a chute 5 which forms a part ofthe tobacco feed. The tobacco advanced into chute 5 drops upon acigarette paper web or endless belt P running through a feed trough I0forming a part of a continuous rod cigarette making machine of anysuitable construction such as shown in the E. D. Smith Patent 1,090,889issued MarchJZ l, 1914.

A series of tobacco feeders 28, 40, 60 and B0 are arranged to feedshredded tobacco to the apron I to form a continuous mat of shreddedtobacco on the apron. Each of the feeders 20, 4B, 6!] and 80 may be avibratory feed of a type shown in Patent 2,239,858 issued April 29,1941, to- C. F.

Randolph. The feeder 26 consists of a vibratory deck 22 provided With anupright wall 24 enclosing three sides of the deck 22. The deck 22 isprovided with'an extension 26 extending across the width of the apron land having a diagonal edge 28 along one side thereof.

The deck 22 is supported by a rod 30 secured to a member (not shown)clamped on the mid-section of a series of flexible vibrator bars 32whose ends are secured in a stationary frame 34. In the frame 34 is alsosupported an electromagnet 35 which may be connected by the wires 3! toa source of A. C. or pulsating electric current. An armature 38 issuitably supported on the midsection of the bars 32 whereby the armaturewill be periodically attracted to the electro-magnet 35 and thenreleased to flex the bars 32. In this manner the supply of tobacco S ondeck 22 will be vibrated obliquely to form a layer T of tobacco ofuniform thickness which will be advanced off the deck 22 and along theextension 26 until it is delivered over the diagonal edge 28 upon theconveyor I. Since the construction of the mechanism for vibrating thedeck 22 is similar to that shown in the Randolph Patent 2,239,858,further description thereof is deemed unnecessary. The deck 22 may beprovided with a gate 39 which is adjustable vertically on the walls 24.By adjusting the gate 39- vertically to vary the size of the gap betweenthe lower edge of the gate 39 and deck 22 the thickness of the layer oftobacco T advanced upon extension 26 may be varied, and thus the rate atwhich tobacco is delivered from feeder 20 to apron I may be regulated.

The construction of the feeders, 49, 60 and 88 is similar to feeder 20,and each of these feeders may be filled with a supply of shreddedtobacco of different lengths. Feeders 40, 60 and 80 are provided withgates 59, 19 and 99 which may be adjusted vertically to vary thethickness of the tobacco layers advanced from the supplies of tobacco inthese feeders upon the conveyor I. By appropriately regulating thepositions of gates 39, 59, 19 and 99, the rates at which tobacco isdelivered from the feeders may be controlled to obtain a mat M ofshredded tobacco on the apron I. It will be understood that the rate atwhich tobacco is fed from the various feeders may be also be controlledby varying the amplitude of the vibration of the decks. For this purposethe amount of electric current supplied by wires 31 to electromagnet 35may be varied by a rheostat, such as shown in Durnig Patent 2,306,380issued December 29, 1942, or the amplitude of vibration may be regulatedin any other suitable manner.

If the feeder is filled with a supply of shredded tobacco larger than 2millimeter mesh, the feeder 60 with shredded tobacco smaller than 2millimeter mesh but larger than 1 millimeter mesh, the feeder 40 withshredded tobacco smaller than 1 millimeter mesh but larger thanmillimeter mesh, and the feeder 2|] with tobacco dust finer thanmillimeter mesh, the rate at which tobacco is fed from the variousfeeders may be controlled to obtain the desired proportions of shredsize.

If desired the feeder 20 may be supplied with suitable shredded blendingtobacco, such as Latakia tobacco, instead of dust. By regulating therate at which the blending tobacco is fed the desired blend of tobaccowill be obtained.

In preparing the shredded tobacco for the feeders 20, 4B, 60 and 80 itmay be shredded bya guillotine cutter of conventional construction, andthe shreds may be screened to obtain the desired shred size. However thedifferent lengths of shredded tobacco may be shredded in a standardtobacco shredding machine and then winnowed into different shredlengths. Moreover the shorts which drop from the bottom of a standardtobacco feed may be utilized.

It is desired that the longer shreds not exceed a predetermined maximumlength which may be approximately 2 inches or greater. To prepare shredswhich are not longer than the predetermined maximum length and will notpass through a 2 millimeter mesh screen a cross cutting apparatussimilar to that disclosed in the Rundell Patent 2,184,567 may be used.In the portion of the constituents of a satisfactory cigarette whichwill not pass through a 2 millimeter mesh screen, shreds whose maximumlength does not exceed two to three inches predominate. With thestandard guillotine cutter now used for shredding cigarate tobaccovarious lengths of shreds including some greatly exceeding two or threeinches in length will be produced. With the apparatus shown in RundellPatent 2,184,567 shreds whose maximum length does not exceed two inchesor other predetermined maximum length may be obtained, but it will beunderstood that shreds having a length not greater than 2 inches arepreferable.

It will be noted that the shredded tobacco will be fed from the feeders20, 40, Ml and 89 without substantially changing the lengths of theshreds, whereas with the carded feed drums and refuser drums usedheretofore in tobacco feeds breakage of the tobacco shreds occurs.Moreover since the tobacco is delivered from the conveyor l to the chuteWithout picking off a picker roll by a pin roll, as is customary intobacco feeds, breakage of the tobacco shreds will be avoided. Thereforesubstantially the same proportions of different shred lengths will bemaintained in the cigarette rod formed in the cigarette making machineas are obtained by feeding of the shredded tobacco from the variousfeeders to the conveyor 1.

While I have described my invention in its preferred form, it will beunderstood that modifications may be made therein and that nolimitations upon the invention are intended other than are imposed bythe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A process for making cigarettes comprising providing separatesupplies of shredded tobacco of at least three different lengths, onesupply containing relatively long shreds which will not pass through amesh screen of one size, one supply containing shreds shorter than thosein the above-mentioned supply but of a medium length which will not passthrough a screen of a diiferent and smaller size, and one supplycontaining relatively short length shreds which will pass through ascreen of a predetermined size smaller than the other two, feedingtobacco from each of said supplies in substantially predeterminedproportions of said long shreds, medium length shreds and short shredscorresponding to the proportions present in cigarettes having goodmechanical qualities to form composite superimposed streams of uniformwidth of shredded tobacco from the tobacco so fed from said supplies,and without substantially changing the length of the shreds, deliveringthe composite superimposed tobacco streams directly through a pathunobstructed for the width of the composite streams, to a rod formingweb of a cigarette making machine to form a cigarette rod havingsubstantially the same proportions of different shred lengths as is fedfrom said supplies.

2. A process for making cigarettes comprising providing separatesupplies of shredded tobacco of at least three different lengths, onesupply containing relatively long shreds which will not pass through amesh screen of one size, one supply containing shreds shorter than thosein the abovementioned supply butof a medium length which will not passthrough a screen of a diiferent and smaller size, and one supplycontaining relatively short length shreds which will pass through ascreen of a predetermined size smaller than the other two, continuouslyfeeding tobacco from each of said supplies, in substantiallypredetermined proportions of said long shreds, medium length shreds andshort shreds corresponding to the proportions present in cigaretteshaving good mechanical qualities to form composite superimposed streamsof uniform width of shredded tobacco from the tobacco so fed from saidsupplies and without substantially changing the length of the shreds,delivering the composite superimposed tobacco streams directly through apath unobstructed for the width of the composite streams, to a rodforming web of a cigarette making machine to form a cigarette rod havingsubstantially the same proportions of different shred length as is fedfrom said supplies, and controlling the rate of feed from said suppliesto obtain the proportions of the different shred lengths correspondingto the proportions determined in the cigarette having good mechanicalqualities.

3. A process for making cigarettes comprising providing separatesupplies of shredded tobacco of at least three different lengths, onesupply containing relatively long shreds which will not pass through amesh screen of one size, one supply containing shreds shorter than thosein the above mentioned supply but of a medium length which will not passthrough a screen of a diflerent and smaller size, and one supplycontaining relatively short length shreds which will pass through ascreen of a predetermined size smaller than the other two, mechanicallyfeeding tobacco from each of said supplies, in substantiallypredetermined portions of said long shreds, medium length shreds andshort shreds corresponding to the proportions present in cigaretteshaving good mechanical qualities to form composite superimposedstreamsof uniformwidth of shredded tobacco from the tobacco so fed fromsaid supplies and without substantially changing the length of theshreds, delivering the composite superimposed tobacco streams directlythrough a path unobstructed for the width of the composite streams to arod forming web of a cigarete making machine to form a cigarette rodhaving substantially the same proportions of different shred lengths asis fed from said supplies, and mechanically controlling the rate of feedfrom said supplies to obtain the proportions of the different shredlengths corresponding to the proportions determined in the cigarettehaving good mechanical qualities.

MOREHEAD PATTERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the

